Rosses Point - 1950s Sligo in 7mm

[Galteemore]

Just starting my layout thread! Baseboards are inbound and my hand built pointwork has arrived. So time to post something I thought....

 

Like all right minded people I have long loved the SLNCR and its environs. My mother went to school on it, my grandfather sent his freshly caught fish to Dublin on it, and my cousins to this day farm beside the trackbed. So my layout is a might have been SLNC/MGWR joint branch from Sligo to Rosses Point. The line was built just as Atock’s rebuilt 2-2-2 tanks were falling into redundancy and one found a home - where it still is. The terminus ante quem for the layout is of course 30 Sep 1957....and the history of various Irish lines has been blended together to produce the end result. So expect bits and pieces from Timoleague, Tramore et al. CIE provide the stock but the odd SLNC train may appear...,

Some philosophy and poetry before the first photos though ...some lines from Louis MacNeice.....

Why do we like being Irish? Partly because
It gives us a hold on the sentimental English
As members of a world that never was,
Baptised with fairy water;
And partly because Ireland is small enough
To be still thought of with a family feeling,
And because the waves are rough
That split her from a more commercial culture;
And because one feels that here at least one can
Do local work which is not at the world's mercy
And that on this tiny stage with luck a man
Might see the end of one particular action.

This extract sums up two things about the layout. First of all it’s nostalgic. This is Dev and Costello’s Ireland with all the bad bits taken out. The sun is shining and steam reigns supreme. Baptised with fairy water indeed.

 

Secondly, the layout will be tiny - 6’ by 2’. Hence the reference to a ‘tiny stage’ that ‘might see the end of one particular action’. In other words I might finish it! 

Trial run tonight of the new crossover which will be at the heart of the station -built to 36.75mm gauge. You may also glimpse an MGWR carriage chassis..

Early days yet but putting a marker down so I will be posting from time to time! 

 

Edited March 19, 2019 by Galteemore

[David Holman]

Splendid!

The track looks SO right. Enjoy - I for one am really looking forward to seeing progress.

[Galteemore]

Took the plunge last night and built the baseboards. The camera is sited where the traverser or similar will be. Only track I have right now is the crossover - which is placed roughly where it will eventually go. The coach is standing on the loco release headshunt whilst the van is resting at the prospective goods store. There will hopefully be a stock stabling siding in between - for all the excursion traffic which never appeared...

In 7mm terms this is not a big layout. But look at http://yourmodelrailway.net/view_topic.php?id=9636&forum_id=21&highlight=luxted to see what’s possible in such a space. 

 

Won’t be much progress for a while I suspect due to a variety of other things going on but I want to get this moving now..

Edited March 25, 2019 by Galteemore

[David Holman]

36.75mm gauge! What's not to like? These modern, laser cut baseboards have a lot going for them too.

 By the by, a question posed by Richard Chown back in MRJ several years ago was ' how many locos were called Galtee More?'

 I can think of two - the WLW 2-4-0 and an S class 4-4-0. Am guessing folk here will know of others...

[Galteemore]

4 hours ago, David Holman said:

 

 By the by, a question posed by Richard Chown back in MRJ several years ago was ' how many locos were called Galtee More?'

 I can think of two - the WLW 2-4-0 and an S class 4-4-0. Am guessing folk here will know of others...

Does this one count? 

[jhb171achill]

6 hours ago, Galteemore said:

Does this one count? 

Nah.....that one’s narra gauge.....

[David Holman]

Oh yes, an A3 with those smoke deflectors definitely counts.

[minister_for_hardship]

19 hours ago, David Holman said:

36.75mm gauge! What's not to like? These modern, laser cut baseboards have a lot going for them too.

 By the by, a question posed by Richard Chown back in MRJ several years ago was ' how many locos were called Galtee More?'

 I can think of two - the WLW 2-4-0 and an S class 4-4-0. Am guessing folk here will know of others...

 

The LNER Galtee More was named after a racehorse, which in turn was named after the mountain.

Edited March 26, 2019 by minister_for_hardship

[jhb171achill]

On 3/19/2019 at 9:06 PM, Galteemore said:

.........Like all right minded people I have long loved the SLNCR and its environs........

I love this!

[Galteemore]

Thought I’d better do an update. Baseboards finally painted. And I’ve built a tracklaying jig - almost ready for work. Not exactly Bretland’s system but hey?! 

First mock-up looks ok I think....

[David Holman]

Proper job!

[GNRi1959]

Looks so authentic, keep going it looks promising. I spent last weekend at Rosses Point, it is so typically Irish.

[Galteemore]

Some basic steps in station building...usual modus operandi - Alphagraphix kit as the inspiration. This time using single storey Florencecourt card kit as a source for two storey Dromahair .... you’ll notice the back wall is completely featureless. That’s because it will be invisible on the layout - a John Ahern idea I think..no point modelling it if you can’t see it

Edited July 11, 2019 by Galteemore

[Angus]

 I have the same structure to build in 2mm scale so I'm looking forward to watching progress.

Was the Florencecourt station building a similar footprint?

[Galteemore]

Thanks Angus - you’ll hopefully learn from my mistakes! From what I can see, Florencecourt and Dromahair were initially identical buildings in layout. Dromahair had a second floor added at some point. The courtyard area at the end seems to have gone through various iterations and was mostly demolished by 1957. The likeness between the buildings is not overly obvious at first as Florencecourt was largely rendered whilst Dromahair kept the bare stone at ground floor level. The canopies are also slightly different. For my purposes, Dromahair is a more useful prototype hence this effort.Not to mention that Dromahair was my family railhead !

Edited July 12, 2019 by Galteemore

[leslie10646]

Back to the A3, for a moment. You are dead right, Mr Holman, an A3 with Witte deflectors is really the job!

Now, to the other David's comment on not bothering with what no-one will see (Mr Ahearn's famous layout is at Pendon, less than ten miles from where I am). I always thought that  you could save a lot of effort with wagons for the same reason - you only ever see one side on most layouts.

It does mean that if you're building a wagon from a kit and one side's better than the other - turn it round (or by numbering the other side differently - two wagons for the price of one!!!!)

[Mayner]

I used to paint CIE coaches black and tan on one side and green on the other to span two eras, gone back to painting both sides the same these days.

[Galteemore]

Frantic day of progress at Rosses Point. Track laid after much deliberation. Needs wired up next. Basic design inspired by this http://yourmodelrailway.net/view_topic.php?id=9636&forum_id=21&highlight=luxted - but with an Irish twist. From back of layout to front, goods bay, main running lines, and harbour branch...note gap in wall where gate will go. The branch beyond the gate down to the harbour is conveniently derelict by 1957 ! I was originally going to make all the track parallel to the baseboard edge but having read wiser counsels, the quay branch has a slight but pleasing undulation. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 17, 2019 by Galteemore

[popeye]

Looks great in B&W, coming on well. 

[David Holman]

Has all the makings of a fine cameo, not least because the photos make it look much bigger than it really is.

 It also has real atmosphere, because the track and buildings say Ireland, even without the stock.

Nice one!

[PorkyP]

Great progress, Looks brilliant !

[Galteemore]

Thanks everyone! Much help has come from this forum. Tonight I made a basic ladder frame to sit on top of the baseboard as an LED canopy with a temporary foam core pelmet.

 Reminds me of a fish tank but it’s lovely having a constant light on the stage ...

Edited November 18, 2019 by Galteemore

[Angus]

Hi Galteemore

That lighting really gives a lift to the scene.

Did you mix LEDs or just use one type?

[Galteemore]

Thanks Angus. It’s one roll of Amazon-sourced cool white LEDs, cut into three strips with wire jumper leads connecting them. They have a built in dimmer switch. These are they....

Edited November 18, 2019 by Galteemore

[Irishrailwayman]

Fantastic project! Do you plan to exhibit this layout?

[Galteemore]

7 hours ago, Irishrailwayman said:

Fantastic project! Do you plan to exhibit this layout?

Thank you! Not sure if my work is up to public scrutiny yet. I have exhibited a previous layout and this one does implement several lessons learned. So you never know, if the right invite comes in!

[Irishrailwayman]

2 hours ago, Galteemore said:

Thank you! Not sure if my work is up to public scrutiny yet. I have exhibited a previous layout and this one does implement several lessons learned. So you never know, if the right invite comes in!

Great! Would you like to exhibit at the Wexford Model Railway Exhibition on 9th/10th May 2020?

[Galteemore]

9 minutes ago, Irishrailwayman said:

Great! Would you like to exhibit at the Wexford Model Railway Exhibition on 9th/10th May 2020?

Thanks -Sending you PM!

[Edo]

Looks simply brilliant - and there is more to come!

[Galteemore]

A shameless pastiche of cine film the late JIC Boyd might have taken of shunting at Rosses Point - right down to the backing music he used! Early running trials and I decided to play with the camera.

 

Edited November 22, 2019 by Galteemore

[PorkyP]

That's a brilliant little fillum ! 

[Angus]

It was good to see your rolling stock in the latest issue of New Irish Lines when my copy arrived yesterday.

Mention of J I C Boyd reminds me, I got a nice surprise last year when my second hand copy of Neil Sprinks's Sligo Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway arrived.

Stamped inside the cover is:-

J.I.C. Boyd

Rinneen

Mathon Road

Colwell

Malvern, Worcs

23 APR 1970

There is also an typed half page precis of the book on green paper with a handwritten note "cheque sent 10/6  3-3-1970".

All in all a bit of a surprise and nice link to an author of several books I own.

 

[Galteemore]

Thanks Angus. Wow - what a relic you have in your hands! Boyd was a really interesting character -with a wide portfolio of other achievements outside railways - who did much for Irish and UK NG railway scholarship. Perhaps having W H Auden as an English teacher at school set him on a literary path! 

Edited November 23, 2019 by Galteemore

[David Holman]

The little film is great fun and the loco runs well too. Did I detect a bit of gear whine? If so, is the 'box well oiled? That, along with more running in, usually cures it.

[Galteemore]

Thanks David. A Boyd cine movie I saw years ago, of a Donegal 2-6-4T shunting at Stranorlar set to that music, has always lingered in my mind so it was fun to imitate! The loco is the first one I have ever built so it’s a bit of a learning curve. Getting the single wheel chassis to balance was especially ‘educational ‘. I did wonder if it was a little noisy. I shall apply a little lube and let her spin for a while.